Canolfan Caerdydd ar gyfer Addysg Gydol Oes

Group 2 Optional Courses

These optional courses will provide students with the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills and to explore particular aspects or periods of the past which reflect teaching/research areas taught in the School of History Archaeology and Religion including broadly archaeology, prehistory, ancient history, medieval history, early-modern and modern history.

From Shakespeare to Hollywood, the Hundred Years’ War is emblazoned on our consciousness. Agincourt has for centuries acted as a rallying cry for English nationhood whilst the era also produced icons like Joan of Arc and Owain Glyn Dŵr. This course will examine the conflict and explore its contribution to the forging of national identities

Representations of the past are all around us, from castles to museums to processions to street names. History is embodied in all these things and we call that ’heritage’. But what is heritage for and why do we value it? Who decides what is heritage is? In other words, who wields power over the past?

Relationships and conflicts between men and women are as old as humanity itself and it is easy to assume that they haven’t changed much in all that time. But is this really the case? Through a series of case studies crossing two thousand years of Mediterranean history, this course will seek to answer that question

In recent years Islam has piqued the interest of politicians and the public, especially following 9/11 and 7/7. As a result media coverage has tended to emphasise some aspects of the religion at the expense of others. This course will address that issue by examining Islam and its place in current affairs.

In recent years interest in shamanic practise has increased dramatically, evoking images of mystical journeys and exotic cultures in which ‘masters of spirits’ perform ecstatic cures. In response to that, this course considers shamanism from an anthropological and historical perspective and will also look at images of the shaman in popular culture, film, art and literature.

Today identities are characterised by ideas about gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity and nationality. Yet the study of these labels in the early modern period has received little attention. This course explores the construction of identities built on notions of sex, age and nation, focusing particularly on the question of how far these labels were based on what people actually looked like.

In many societies of the ancient world magic was seen as absolutely real and played an important role in how people lived. This course will explore magical practices and theories in ancient Near Eastern, Greek and Roman cultures. Using literary and historical texts as well as visual and material artefacts and evidence, this course will examine a wide range of magical practices and techniques including amulets, drugs and incantations, curse tablets, sacrifice, divination, shape-changing and necromancy.

Is the concept of disability a modern one? Were there many disabled people in the past? How was disability viewed by past cultures - with sympathy, hostility, indifference? Using early modern England (c. 1500-1800) as a case study this course will attempt to address some of these questions.

Celtic folklore often conjures up visions of mystical spirits and ancient worlds. This course aims to look beyond such romantic notions and consider the varied range of folklore in Britain and Ireland. It will examine how people in the past viewed their world and how folklore has been adapted in modern life.

Who are history TV programmes for? What can studying history documentaries tell us about the way that historians and TV producers approach their craft? This summer school will explore the styles and techniques that the makers of historical documentaries employ to ‘reconstruct’ the past.

This course explores the art and archaeology of Greece from the Bronze Age to the end of the Classical period. It deals with sculpture, architecture, painted pottery and wall painting, and places these artistic developments in their social, political and historical context.

The ancient world is defined by its empires - indeed, the story of empires is almost as old as civilisation itself. This course will consider some of the great empires of the ancient world, from Assyria to Rome, in order to identify the causes of imperial expansion, how empires were won, and the justifications behind them.